THE war in Europe was over but for Lancaster Bomber pilot Arthur Thompson it was business as usual as he took to the skies and flew to France, this time not to bomb the enemy but to help repatriate prisoners-of- war writes Terry Morgan

Arthur, now 84, was part of the RAF's Bomber Command which eradicated the Luftwaffe from the skies, giving the ground forces the advantage as they advanced slowly to Berlin.

Warrant Officer Thompson was born in Radcliffe and lived there for 45 years, before moving to Bury for another 20 years. He spent all his working life at Chloride Batteries at Clifton and in the last 30 years was responsible for submarine battery design.

He met his wife, fellow Warrant Officer Muriel Welsh, at RAF Waddington where she had been posted from Biggin Hill to recover after the base was continually bombed and machine-gunned during the Battle of Britain.

After leaving the RAF, the couple returned to Bury. They retired to Stockport to be near their son and daughter. Sadly, Muriel died in 1990 but Arthur still travels over from Stockport to Radcliffe Cricket Club where he has been a member for 73 years.

Arthur, who qualified as a pilot with 463 (RAAF) and 617 (RAF) Squadrons, said: "How did I celebrate VE Day? Not as intended, I can assure you. We were flying until late the previous evening and only had one hour for an early celebration, now that operations were over.

"So after a number of 'halves' of gin and orange we staggered to our beds, expecting a lie-in. We were shocked when called at 7am and told that we were to fly to France and collect 24 PoWs for return to the UK. The Lancaster Bomber was not intended for carrying passengers and the PoWs had to sit on the floor with their backs to the sides of the fuselage , but they were home in three hours.

"If there had been a breathalyser test for air crew we would certainly have been grounded! However, we carried out our duty and we were back for the evening VE celebrations."

After volunteering for aircrew early in the war, Arthur was informed by the selection board that as a draughtsman in a reserved occupation, he would only be considered for training as a pilot's observer.

He said: "While waiting for call-up, I joined the Little Lever LDV, later renamed the Home Guard. We were poorly equipped at first but later we were fully kitted out and subject to basic training, and rifle practice.

After further delay and then two years of studying and flying training I obtained my pilot's wings and arrived at RAF Waddington, near Lincoln, for operations with 463, an Australian Squadron under Bomber Command."

Before embarking at Liverpool for training in Canada, Arthur spent a few weeks at Heaton Park and was able to introduce his pals to the "local talent" at Bury Palais. They then sailed to Canada on the passenger liner Empress of Scotland, although the name on the lifeboats was still Empress of Japan, as they was too little time to change the name.

"I soon realised that it was going to be a dangerous occupation," said Arthur. "Our first day at Regina, we witnessed a Canadian pupil kill himself in a Tiger Moth. At Swift Current, where we graduated to twin-engined Oxfords, it was marked by an accident in which I was directly involved when one of my friends was killed and, although I was ruled completely blameless, it is something which has always stayed with me.

"We were close formation flying with three aircraft stepped to the right at the same height. I was in the lead aircraft and decided on a gentle turn to the right, no signal given as per standard practice, the pupil in the second aircraft also turned but the pupil in the third did not. There was a crash and they were killed."

Arthur's first two operations from Waddington were both bomber daylight raids on Essen and Dortmund on consecutive days. The next operation was a night attack on the oil refineries at Lutzkendorf in Central East Germany, a long tiring trip of almost ten hours. Eighteen of the 255 Allied aircraft were lost.

Arthur continued: "We were hit by anti-aircraft fire but not in any vital parts of the aircraft and then fog at Waddington meant that we were diverted to an American airbase where we sampled more comfortable facilities, and had the opportunity to examine their flying fortress B17 bomber.

"Our daylight attack on the railway bridge at Bremen, to cut off the retreating German forces, was our most difficult. On our bombing run with the bomb doors open we could hear the shrapnel from the anti-aircraft guns pinging on our bomb casings. We got our bombs away but could not close the bomb doors as the hydraulic lines had been fractured. The extra drag meant that we were miles behind the main bomber stream and a sitting target for the German fighters. Fortunately, they disappeared, probably because they were short of fuel. The Germans had a last go at us with their anti-aircraft guns on the island off the Dutch coast but God was with us that day and we arrived back safely."

The operation which gave Arthur the greatest sense of achievement was the destruction of the town of Wesel on the east bank of the rhine. Montgomery had asked Bomber Harris to carry out this raid as he wanted to eliminate any resistance from the Germans in Wesel as his troops crossed the Rhine at midnight. No bombs had to fall on the west bank. Approximately 200 Lancaster bombers took part and they dropped their bombs half an hour before the troop crossing. The crews were later congratulated by Monty for their accuracy.

Arthur said: "I lost a lot of good pals, and the greatest shock was to wake up in the morning and see seven empty beds: crew would only be declared missing at this point but in a few hours a new crew was in their place. One in two aircrew in Bomber Command did not survive. In fact a total of 55,000 were killed.

"Later, I volunteered to join 617 (Dam Buster) Squadron, which had been reformed to continue in the war in the Far East. The intention was to bomb the mainland of Japan from the Island of Okinawa when it was captured by the Americans, but the atom bomb ended the war on August 15, 1945."

It was on his arrival at RAF Waddington that Arthur met his future wife, Muriel, from Ormskirk. She was the Catering Warrant Officer and had volunteered for the WAAF in September 1939.

"It is worthwhile referring to Muriels service career," said a proud Arthur. "Early in her career, she was Posted to Biggin Hill, which was a front line Battle of Britain station. She was there throughout the Battle and was subjected to continuous bombing and machine gun attacks. A number of RAF and WAAF personnel were killed when in one raid there was a direct bomb hit on an air raid shelter.

"After the battle, personnel were posted away to recover from their ordeal and she eventually arrived at Waddington on the day that I was posted there and she stayed for the next three years.

"Being of the same rank, we could use the same Mess for dining, bar and entertainment facilities when she was off-duty and I was not flying. I understand she was probably the youngest and one of the first WAAF Warrant Officers in Bomber Command."

The couple married in 1947 and had two children and three grandchildren